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An individual has been found guilty on appeal of sexually assaulting Gisèle Pelicot after she was rendered comatose by her spouse – and received his prison sentence increased to a decade.

Appeal Trial

The defendant, forty-four, an unemployed builder, who had challenged his initial guilty verdict last year, faced a retrial this week at the higher court in Nîmes.

A jury of nine jurors, accompanied by three judges, ruled against Dogan on Thursday of sexually assaulting Pelicot in her home in Provence in the early hours of 29 June 2019.

The testimony revealed that Dogan, a married father, connected with the victim's spouse, Dominique Pelicot, in an online chatroom titled “without her consent”, where the husband was seeking men to visit his house to assault his wife after he had sedated her into a deep sleep.

We expect the panel will declare that in this nation, fundamental rights are also women’s rights – that permission is individual, not transferred,” said the victim's lawyer, Antoine Camus. “Consent is secured directly and not via a representative from a spouse.”

Case History

The ex-husband, among the most severe sexual predators in recent French history, was given a prison term to twenty years in prison last year for drugging his spouse and bringing in multiple perpetrators to rape her in her home in the town of Mazan over a duration of many years of their marriage.

Dozens of additional defendants were found culpable in a high-profile trial last year, and the appellant was the only man to contest his verdict. He was originally sentenced to nine years in prison, a sentence enhanced on Thursday to ten years.

The state's attorney, Dominique Sie, had stated he should serve twelve years, because he “completely denies to take any accountability”.

Testimony and Proof

Dogan had initially sent the husband graphic images and then driven an hour from his residence in Provence to rape Gisèle Pelicot, after telling his wife he was stepping out, the evidence indicated.

The ex-husband, who was transported from solitary confinement in prison to temporarily testify at the hearing, told the court that Dogan had been aware his wife had been “sedated” and he told to men by phone: “I want someone to violate my wife after I’ve sedated her unbeknownst to her.”

The courtroom became a focus point for a wider discussion on sexual violence norms in society as the defendant continued to assert he was innocent and had not committed rape, contending that because Gisèle Pelicot’s husband had welcomed him into the room, his behavior had been justifiable.

The panel in the higher court was displayed recorded footage of Gisèle Pelicot’s unresponsive form, unconscious and breathing heavily in a deep sleep, while a grinning the perpetrator engaged in violation multiple times over a period of what authorities reported was 3.5 hours. The presiding judge said she had been at risk of fatal outcome by choking. The state's case said there was absolute certainty that she had been unaware and had not given permission.

Dogan's Claims

The defendant told the court the footage were simply “intimate moments” and denied it was violation. He said what he did was “a sexual act”, not assault. He told the court: “I am innocent of assault.” He said the victim's husband had allowed him to the residence, and therefore it was acceptable. He said he was deceived by the husband. “I wanted to stop,” the accused stated to the court. “I continued because he convinced me.”

Questioned if he wanted to make a closing remarks to the court, the defendant said: “I never wanted to harm that lady.”

Pelicot's Words

The survivor, who was cheered upon leaving court each day by crowds assembled to back her, addressed Dogan in court: “You haven’t understood. When will you acknowledge you violated me? It is unlawful to rape an incapacitated woman. When did I ever give you permission? Not once.”

Gisèle Pelicot, seventy-two, became an symbol of resistance after she gave up her right to privacy in the trial last year when she said: “Guilt ought to transfer.”

State's Argument

Sie, speaking to the victim in court, said the defendant's failure to take responsibility showed that: “Shame has not yet changed sides. The public is possibly in the process of that, maybe motivated by the societal understanding brought by the exposure of your case.”

The prosecutor said Dogan’s claims of blamelessness showed how rape culture was still widespread in society as part of “outdated” forms of “patriarchal control”. He said: “Now we must change the culture of violence to a society based on agreement.”

Sie addressed the defendant: “For as much as you deny it, it’s not just a person, it’s an entire unpleasant cultural framework that you are supporting.”

Biographical Details

The accused was originated from Turkey and at the age of five moved to France, where his father worked as a building manager. The court heard that his father was violent and that Dogan began smoking cannabis aged ten. When he was 17 he was stopped by police for dealing drugs and his father forced him to leave of home. He was incarcerated in prison for drug dealing in his early 20s and had worked as a construction worker but had undergone periods of being unhoused.

He was married and had a son with special needs, who he was the principal carer for, as his wife worked in a institution's dining hall. The court heard his spouse did not know he had regular sexual encounters beyond their union. His defence said this was his method of dealing with his challenging existence. Dogan had informed a evaluator that annually he engaged in paid sex on his birthday. His lawyers informed the court he had joint inflammation triggered by the anxiety of the first trial.